The smell of sweet apple fragrance wafted through the steamy corridor of the showers, blending in perfectly with the moist air that filled the room. Who knew Arrancar had such a delightful taste in fragrance? Or maybe it wasn't the Arrancar's taste but Aizen himself. After all, he was the one that requested that she cleanse herself with the most exquisite of aromas.

Orihime ran her fingers through her thick, orange locks, rubbing shampoo all across each strand. This was the first time she had been able to shower without indecent interruptions from other Arrancar. Ulquiorra couldn't have picked a better time for her to shower! Not a soul lurked in the room and she felt she was finally able to relax.

"Hurry up, woman. Lord Aizen waits for no one," a cold voice rung out, disturbing the girl's thoughts. All thoughts of relaxing were purged from the girl's mind as she realized that she wasn't entirely alone.

The fourth Espada stood right outside her stall, his back leaning against the door that led to the hallway. If the woman was worried that she would be harassed by other Arrancar, then he planned to completely deny access to any who chose to enter.

No, he didn't care if the girl was harassed or not. Mindless teasing and bullying did not concern him in any way possible. He was only trying to get her to finish up her bathing as quickly and painlessly as possible. The sooner, the better. Lord Aizen was not a patient man.

"I'll be out in just a moment, Ulquiorra-sama. You wouldn't want me smelling bad for Aizen-sama, now would you?" Orihime giggled lightly from the shower stall as she began to rinse out her hair. There was no sponge so she had to make do with her bare hands as she poured herself handful of body wash.

The fresh scent of apples continued to hang thick in the air, nearly suffocating Ulquiorra. He didn't understand why Aizen was so drawn to this particular scent…Not once had he seen the man actually eat an apple. What about it was so enthralling to him?

Seconds later, the shower curtain opened as Orihime peeked her head out, "Um, I'm finished, Ulquiorra-sama. Could you please turn around or even close your eyes?" Her drenched hair was slung over her shoulders as Ulquiorra could only see the girl from her neck up. His jade eyes stared at her for a moment before closing gently as he obliged with her request. Why did the girl care so much if he saw her in a state of nudity? He was nothing like Nnoitra who lusted after her. He was incapable of feeling any forms of immoral desires towards her.

The girl reached for the towel that was strewn casually over a small chair. She then began to dry herself off with swift, gentle movements from behind the shower stall. Ulquiorra's acute hearing could pick up each and every sound vibration exerting off of her. The espada couldn't help but imagine what she looked like in there, stroking that fluffy towel across her soft, tender skin.

Instantly, the man cursed himself for such thoughts. Maybe he really was in fact turning into Nnoitra. Why did the thought of the girl drying herself off intensify the aching pain in his chest? No… The pain was neither in his chest nor even in his stomach. The slight aching tugged upon him elsewhere.

Ulquiorra found himself cursing once again.

"Woman," Ulquiorra grumbled in irritation, "You have less than twenty seconds to complete drying yourself or I will come in there and do it for you."

He was not irritated with her, per se, but what she was doing to him. He wanted to blame it on the smell of apple that continued to fill up the entire room or perhaps he was just feeling dizzy from all the steam in the room.

And yet, he had never been dizzy before in his life nor did he believe apple soap was the reason his body was acting in such a strange way.

"Hai, Ulquiorra-sama! I'll be done in less than that!" Orihime cried out as she quickly tried to wipe up every last inch of water on her body. She scurried around quickly and peeked her head out of the shower, looking for her robe.

Much to the girl's dismay, the robe was nowhere in sight.

"Um…Ulquiorra-sama? I hate to be rude but where's my bathrobe?" the redhead asked quietly, nervously staring at the stiff Espada before her.

"A servant took it for washing. You will have to walk back to your room in a towel where a clean uniform awaits you," Ulquiorra replied, trying to hold back a growl. The pain below his abdomen was swelling and increasing at a rapid pace.

"W-whaaaat?! You didn't tell me that, Ulquiorra-sama!!" Orihime gasped, her cheeks turning a deep crimson color. She had to bite back a few tears of embarrassment that were begging to pour out. Why didn't Ulquiorra mention that?! Was he just trying to make her life as unpleasant as possible?

Ulquiorra, on the other hand, didn't find anything odd about the situation. Her body was going to be covered by the towel, was it not? The girl has nothing to worry herself over.

"Hurry, woman. My patience for you grows thin," the man said as he approached the shower stall, "Do not make me drag you out as you are."

Orihime quickly wrapped the tower tightly around her body as Ulquiorra opened the curtain, nearly exposing her. The girl squealed lightly and held the towel tightly against her, afraid that it could come undone any moment. "U-Ulquiorra-sama…Why are you always such in a rush to do things? Why couldn't this wait until my clothes were done? Walking out in front of everyone is just too much…"

Ulquiorra could sense the shaking in her voice quite clearly as well as the tears in the corners of her eyes. "I see no issue in you wearing that," the young man said calmly as he reached for her arm and dragged her out of the stall. Her hair was still completely soaked as the remains of soap suds still lingered in her fiery hair. The smell of that apple shampoo was even stronger as he yanked her closer to him.

A small whimper emitted from the girl as he dragged her towards the door in a harsh movement. Orihime struggled to keep the towel tightly around her, wary of the fact that even by covering the front side of her body; her backside could easily slip out into the open.

"Aizen-sama will desire your presence at any given moment. You need to prepared," the Espada replied. The true reason, however, was that the toxic fumes of her scent had been driving his body towards insanity. He continued to feel a bulging sensation from beneath his belt yet he tried to ignore it. If the pain did not cease, he would be forced to visit Szayel Apporro Granz, the eighth Espada and the most intelligent researcher that Hueco Mundo could offer. If anyone could explain the strange sensations that were occurring in his body, it would be Szayel.

The fingers of the Espada that wrapped around her arm will still as frozen as ever. They felt nice and cool against her warm skin that was still heated from the steam of the shower. Even so, she wished that he would release her. Why was he still touching her, anyway? She was successfully out of the shower—what need was there to continue to drag her along?

Why is that cursed smell even stronger now? Ulquiorra wondered to himself, continuing to tug on the girl as if she was a dog on a leash. He thought he could have escaped it by leaving the showering corridors. Unfortunately, it had only gotten worse.

Orihime stared up her captor, a look of worry crossing over her face. Before the other day when he had force fed her for the first time, Ulquiorra had never bothered to touch her. Now it seemed that he was always grabbing her or dragging her places. To make matters even more complicated, he seemed constantly distracted…Usually, the bleak Espada would simply stare coldly at her each time he was in her presence. For these past few days, his eyes seem to be looking at her while his mind drifted elsewhere. Maybe something was bothering him?

"Um, Ulquiorra-sama?" Orihime asked in her tenderly caring voice, "Is everything all right? You seem to be in some sort of a daze…"

"I have never been in daze, woman. Do not make foolish assumptions," Ulquiorra said quickly, almost snapping at her.

Orihime glanced at the cement floor, the pitter-patter of her wet feet providing the only echo in the room alongside Ulquiorra's elegant footsteps.

"Well, maybe not in a daze necessarily…but you have been appearing to be distracted by something. Is something bothering you? I know I'm just a human but maybe if you talk about your problems with someone, you'll feel better and…"

"You are making foolish assumptions once again, woman. I am neither distracted nor bothered by anything," Ulquiorra replied flatly, trying his best to hide any agitation in his tone. Damn, the girl was onto him! She may appear to be a real clueless airhead but the girl was quite insightful.

"I know it's none of my business but Tatsuki-chan always talked to me about her problems and every time she did, she felt better," the girl continued to prod, having to quicken her pace to keep up with his.

A moment later, Ulquiorra stopped dead in his tracks. The girl wasn't quite watching where she was going and slammed into him, nearly knocking herself over from the impact. The Espada then sharply turned to face her before snatching up her wrist and yanking her towards him as if she was a lifeless ragdoll. Orihime barely had enough time to gasp as Ulquiorra's face drew closer to hers, emerald orbs glaring deep into her eyes.

"That is quite enough, woman," he nearly growled out, the grip on her wrist tightening, "Your voice is wearing on my nerves and your useless questions are burning my ears. Cease your idle chatter or I shall cease it for you."

Orihime tried her best to hold back a whimper as the pace of her heartbeat sped up in fear. Why was he being so mean to her? She was only trying to help…It was rare for the man to show much of any emotion towards her, yet, the way he was glaring at her made her wonder what exactly was going through his head since nothing could go through his non-existent heart. Something must've been bothering him or else he would not have responded so aggressively. Even so, all she could do was stare apprehensively at his eyes.

"Hai, Ulquiorra-sama…" she managed to mumble out, in hopes that he would release her.

Ulquiorra was about to release her until a strange feeling washed over him. The odor protruding off her skin was tingling his nostrils once again. It was so strong, so welcoming.

For a moment, he understood why Aizen chose this fragrance for her to use above all others.

He wasn't sure why he was throbbing with slight pain between his legs but the feeling was intense. As if on instinct, the male drew his head closer to the girl's head, inhaling her scent lightly as he did so.

"U-Ulquiorra-sama?" Orihime whispered gently, confused at the man's sudden reaction. Was he…sniffing her hair?

"Silence, woman," he grumbled out as he dug in his nose in the hair atop of her head. It was still damp and felt rather cool against his black lips. Even so, he felt himself desiring more of the pleasant scent. It was almost irresistible. Smelling it in the shower burned his nose distastefully, yet, having the fragrance drift off her body made it feel so alluring. What was it about this woman that heightened his senses?

Acting on pure impulse, Ulquiorra bent his head down, bringing his face towards her slender neck. He breathed out slowly and softly, causing small shivers to dance along Orihime's spine. His actions caused a bit of a disturbance in her chest, her heart almost beating furiously out of her chest.

"U-Ulquiorra-sama!! What are you doing??" the girl cried out with a twang of panic adding to her voice. Her cheeks had begun to fade into a bright, rosy color as the male began to caress her skin with his tepid breath.

He simply ignored her as he continued to inhale her scent sharply, a look of slight contentment crossing over his facial features. Orihime, however, was unaware of his pleasurable expression. She had tilted her chin towards the ceiling as she continued to shudder lightly from his touch. She inwardly wondered if he was planning on sinking his teeth into her like a vampire or if he had any plans of gnawing her head clean off her shoulders.

Ulquiorra found himself in a tranquil trance; the delicious aroma of the girl getting the best of him. He flickered out his tongue, wondering if the girl tasted as sweet as she smelled.

And then it hit him—this pleasurable perfume wasn't from the apple fragrance. It was her own particular scent; a scent that any goddess would be jealous of.

"Ulquiorra…" Orihime panted out, her body continuing to tremble lightly. His wet tongue had caused a stampede of goose bumps to race across her entire form. She wanted to scream at him, yet all her words were caught up in her throat, temporarily trapped.

Finally realizing what he had done, the man hastily withdrew, releasing his grasp on her wrist in the process. He then turned sharply on his heels and treaded away from her quickly, leaving her stranded in the hallway with a look of bewilderment upon her face.

Orihime stood there completely dumbfounded, finding herself to be weak in the knees. If she tried to take so much as a tiny step, she felt she would have collapsed right then and there. Her heart's pace was still racing rapidly as her body continued to tremble ever so lightly. Her eyes were opened rather wide as she stared blankly at his back. What had just happened?!

He took a few more steps before he turned his head over his shoulder, glancing at her. He should have just left her there but she appeared to be in a state of shock. Almost in a daze, one could say. He was technically responsible for it so abandoning her was not an option.

"Woman, do not just stand there. Aizen-sama will be asking for you any moment now. Come."

Orihime snapped back into reality and then stared skeptically at the Espada. One second he was dragging her down the hallway and the next he was sniffing her hair and her neck like he was some kind of predator and she was his prey. Luckily, her towel was still neatly wrapped around her while she had been in a flabbergasted state.

The girl wondered if she was actually going to be able to walk without falling flat on her face. Ulquiorra's icy glare signaled her body to move, or to at least try. With a small nod towards the male, Orihime placed one foot shakily in front of the other. She nearly lost her balance but she managed to trudge towards him slowly before quickening her pace.

The man was complicated. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't understand him. She couldn't understand why he always glared at her. She couldn't understand why one minute he was being cold and unfriendly towards her and the next trying to strike up conversations. She couldn't understand why he would push her around one moment and then act gentle towards her the next. And most of all, she couldn't understand why he denied having emotions when she could clearly see something stirring in his soul.

Orihime could clearly see something in his eyes before the male turned his back towards her once again before continuing to stride down the hallway. She couldn't quite figure out what she saw in his eyes, exactly, but she would find out.

No matter what, she would find out one way or another…

Author's Note: Hey guys ^^ I hope you liked this chapter!! Sorry for being so short…I should have yet another update this week Once again, I enjoy ALL your reviews and this is what keeps me continuing on with this story! As usual, let me know if I made any mistakes or if there's anything I need to work on. A few chapters ago, I promised pronz. I had originally planned on this being maybe a three chapter story but it'll probably be a good bit longer. However, my promise still stands and THERE WILL BE PRONZ!!! In the meantime, be on the lookout for the next update! Thanks again for reading